Wednesday, May 27, 2009

I noticed last night that more than a few readers came across Tome here by typing in "sotomayor member faln," and I knew that I was onto something with yesterday's You Heard It Here First post. So, apparently my speculation's already in the air. But to determine whether it was more like nitrogen or argon, I decided to Google the term myself and came across this headline:

In College Thesis, Sotomayor Appeared to Support Puerto Rican Independence

That's right, that bastion of liberalism, The Wall Street Journal, has provided the opening salvo in what promises to be yet another Culture War battle over a traitorous minority and her disloyalty to these here United States of America.

According to the article, the 21-year-old Boricua Bomber wrote these incendiary, downright seditious words in her senior thesis, discussing then-Puerto Rican governor, Luis Muñoz Marin:

“I do not disclaim in this thesis that I do not reflect my own bias toward independence for Puerto Rico. However, unlike other authors, I do not study Luis Muñoz Marin from the assumptions of my own status preference.”

Thomas Paine, look out!

WSJ goes on to quote:

"Mr. Muñoz Marin, she argued, had a great impact on Puerto Rico, but he failed to see how the commonwealth status 'simply perpetuated the very conditions he hoped to change.'"

Troskyite talk like that will get an ax in your head!

And what kind of Marxist-Leninist-Maoist crap is this?

“The experiences of Alaska and Hawaii since statehood with cultural destruction has been indicative of the cultural loss Puerto Rico would eventual [sic] face if statehood for the island were chosen. Under the commonwealth status, there has been a gradual deterioration of the Spanish language among the Puerto Rican populace and a growing Americanization of the island.”

The article, on the face of it, is a lot less inflammatory than the headline actually suggests. After all, what American does not believe in a people's right to self-determination? If I am not mistaken, that is exactly what this country was founded upon.

However, WSJ is perfectly willing to throw a little napalm on this soon-to-be raging fire, by providing "the context" in which Sotomayor's senior was written:

The Princeton thesis was written at a time of heated political debate over Puerto Rico’s future. Beginning in 1974 and continuing for nearly a decade, the paramilitary group Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional, or FALN, carried out bombings in the U.S. to push for independence for the island.

I hate to say, "I told you so," but ...

Micheline, over at Daily Kos, calls the article a "hit piece," that "implicitly questions her patriotism" and "is trying to paint her as a multicultural fanatic."

After all, WSJ goes on to say:

"Ms. Sotomayor was born in the Bronx of Puerto Rican parents, and her pride in her roots is evident as she dedicates her paper 'to the people of my island – for the rich history that is mine.'"

In the "context" of the FALN bombings, we had not seen such revolutionary talk since The Diary of Che Guevara. At least, I have the feeling that that's how the Right is going to end up portraying this article and Sotomayor herself. It is only a matter of minutes before this tiny bomb explodes into a holocaust of disgusting, race-baiting invective that will have the Right blowing their tops. Don't be surprised if next week you see Sarah Palin on Faux News screeching about how Sotomayor was "palling around with terrorists" in the 1970s.

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About Me

Toiling in utter obscurity his entire life, Bill Campbell is the author of two novels, Sunshine Patriots and My Booty Novel. He has also been a music critic and published his own zine, Contraband and a music trade publication, CD Revolutions. Currently, he lives in the DC area (missing his beloved Cleveland Park) with his wife and daughter.

My Booty Novel

32-year-old writer, Damian Cross, returns home from his first book tour only to be dumped by his fiancee, who he's been with for 7 years. Now, Damian has to start over while writing his second novel while all his friends are trying to convince him to write a "booty novel" to make money. Written in blog form, My Booty Novel is a funny, heartwarming tale of dating, starting over, and learning to let go of old pains in order to find new joys.

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Sunshine Patriots

United Earth, intergalactic war hero, Aaron "The Berber" Barber finds himself in a place he's never been before--fighting his fellow human beings. With chaos, rebellion, and bloodshed all around him, Barber suddenly questions his role as a war hero and spokesman for Smell-A-Vision. Sunshine Patriots is a satirical science fiction novel that asks the important question: What does it mean to truly be a hero?